Joanna Lumley: I was on the brink of insanity - As an actress she has appeared to take it all in her stride, and in her campaigning for Gurkhas’ rights she showed a notably cool head under fire. But Joanna Lumley’s life was once derailed by a nervous breakdown, she has disclosed - Joanna Lumley: I was on the brink of insanity - Telegraph

(She originally became famous in 1976 playing Purdey in The New Avengers - named after the shotgun maker Purdey apparently - she was the latest in a long line of combative secret agent women in the Avengers series)

TWENTY-ONE young people in Dyndee have been turned away from a specialist mental health clinic due to a lack of beds, the Public Health Minister has revealed. Maureen Watt said the patients could not be admitted to Dudhope Young People’s Unit in Dundee as it would have been “clinically unsafe” to do so.

A vital drop-in centre for people with mental health problems in Exeter and East Devon has been closed for the last three weeks. Exeter Community Opportunities (ECO) in Bartholomew Street is run by mental health charity Mind who have blamed heavy rain on causing flooding in the building.

Mental health team's 'missed chance' to save Telford woman. Mental health service workers missed an opportunity to help a woman before she committed suicide – though a coroner ruled it may not have prevented her death. Carol Gillian Jackson, 60, was found dead at home by her husband a few weeks after being seen by mental health services.

Cornwall's coroner will raise concerns with the health secretary over the care of mentally ill patients far from home. It comes after a jury concluded the death of a man from St Austell was suicide, while undergoing care 140 miles from where he lived. David Knight was killed by a train near St Austell after going on leave from a Somerset hospital - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-36729220

The Bristol Safeguarding Adults Board confirmed it would be considering whether a review was appropriate after the body of a man was discovered in a block of Knowle flats yesterday. The flats in Wells Road belong to a Staple Hill charity and are used to home people suffering from mental health problems. Detectives have arrested a man, aged in his 50's, on suspicion of murder

Failings at an NHS mental health ward “significantly contributed” to a young woman’s death by hanging, an inquest has ruled. Merseycare, who ran the Broadoak unit in Broadgreen - was criticised at an inquest for a series of shortcomings in the run-up to Laura Mottram being found dead in a shower area in 2015. The Trust have apologised for mistakes made in the 23-year-old’s care, which included a “chaotic and dysfunctional” Harrington Ward, which had “poor leadership” and “poor documentation and record-keeping.” The death was one of three which happened at Broadoak within just four months, all being probed by Liverpool’s coroner.

A Grimsby GRANDMOTHER has been jailed after threatening to smash a mental health support worker over the head with a bottle of vinegar. Gail Degruchy, 41, of Heneage Road, became abusive to a member of staff at Harrison House mental health hospital after she had asked to be sectioned.

A dad killed himself shortly after being released from a mental health hospital, an inquest has heard. Andrew Fleming had issues with his mental health and was admitted to Roseberry Park hospital, in Middlesbrough, just three weeks before his death on May 29 last year.

The United Nations has passed a resolution reaffirming the right of everyone to be guaranteed the full... enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, without discrimination of any kind. Promoted by Portugal and Brazil and co-sponsored by at least 61 countries, the resolution highlights the discrimination that people with mental health conditions suffer and signals a commitment to address it. The resolution says the UN is deeply concerned that people using mental health services can experience widespread discrimination, stigma, prejudice, violence, social exclusion and segregation, unlawful or arbitrary institutionalisation, overmedicalisation and treatment practices that fail to respect their autonomy, will and preferences.

Mental health is one of the last remaining taboos in the workplace. Yet one in six workers in the UK experience depression, anxiety or stress which is a significant portion of the workforce. It also appears as if attitudes towards mental health in the workplace remain in the dark ages: 56% of employers say they wouldn’t hire someone with depression, according to a Mental Health report published this year - http://www.forbes.com/sites/karenhi...lbeing-matters-in-the-workplace/#3d6ae9304b32

London is synonymous with high-pressure work environments. In financial centres like the City and Canary Wharf, stressed professionals walk at break-neck speed as they attempt to balance an impossible schedule with the demands of everyday life. For some the pressure comes with the job and is manageable. But others have more complex demons at work beneath the surface, ready to feed on the strain. According to psychologists like Nightingale Hospital’s Dr Bijal Chheda-Varma, working in London can have a massive impact on an individual’s mental health. This has led to a growing demand for the Marylebone facility’s services, leading to the opening of a new outpatient therapy service after demand increased 20% from 2014 to 2015.

A warning about inconsistencies in mental health patient outcomes has been raised in a charity's report. It follows the introduction of the Mental Health (Wales) Measure in 2012 which aims to improve the treatment of people with mental health problems - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-36699133

An adult mental health charity with bases in Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough has launched a new project after a funding boost of almost £100,000. The Teamwork Trust, which provides services for adults with learning difficulties and physical disabilities, has been awarded £97,750 from the Cabinet Office’s Local Sustainability Fund as part of a £130,000 project.

Throughout June and July is Recovery College for All - it offers a range of co-produced sessions which have been developed with and for people who have been affected by mental health issues. Everyone is welcome

All of our courses take place at the Uffculme Centre, 52 Queensbridge Road, Birmingham B13 8QY

I am pleased to provide details of a Mental Health Conference to be held at Birmingham NEC on July 12th 2016.

The conference focusses on thinking creatively to make mental health communities stronger and more effective.

The aim is to bring together Mental Health Professionals, Service/Product Providers and Service Users and ask (and maybe answer) some key questions that will help shape the future of Mental Health Services.

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust - Join us for our Opportunities Coffee Morning to learn how you can help us and gain great experience in a range of engagement opportunities. Our colleagues from Recovery For All and Volunteering will also be available to consult with.

We look forward to seeing you soon and here's how and when you can find us:

Positive Mental Health Group - monthly networking meeting dates for 2015. The group is open to anyone with an interest in promoting a greater awareness of mental health issues across the communities of Birmingham and Solihull. Your chance to share information, news & views with statutory agencies, voluntary sector organisations, user groups - and individual users/carers/staff. Come and join one of the biggest mental health networking meetings in the Midlands, every month! Just turn up - no need to book. Meetings include guest speakers, information table, light refreshments & a chance to chat and catch up.

Thursday 28 July – from 2.30pm to 4.30pm
Thursday 25 August – from 2.30pm to 4.30pm
Thursday 29 September – from 2.30pm to 4.30pm
Thursday 27 October – from 2.30pm to 4.30pm
Thursday 24 November – from 2.30pm to 4.30pm
Thursday 15 December – from 2.30pm to 4.30pm

Just a short walk from all city centre rail stations and bus stops. The cafe is located next to Birmingham LGBT Health & Wellbeing Centre, opposite the Chinese pagoda traffic island and the Radisson hotel.

Buses 61 and 63 stop at HF1 outside the cafe. The journey is just two stops from the Rotunda/Bullring centre, board buses outside the Boots store.

PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) at BSMHFT can offer information on this group and other voluntary or user groups within Birmingham and Solihull - Phone 0800 953 0045

Suresearch is a network of Service Users in Research and Education. We welcome as members, users and survivors of mental health services and their allies, who have experience and/or an interest in mental health research and education. Meet at the University of Birmingham at 10.30am in the Garden Room at Park House, 40 Edgbaston Park Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2RT.

Tea, coffee and a warm welcome are available from 10am. Our meetings are open, friendly, and relaxed. Everyone has the chance to sit and listen or contribute to the discussions, raise topics and distribute information. News of local and national developments is shared, along with information on current and forthcoming research and teaching projects

Soho House Museum in Birmingham is hosting monthly meet-ups where people with dementia and their carer/family member/friend can take part in museum related activities. From reminiscence to handling objects, music to craft, to provide stimulation and enjoyment.

The sessions are free to attend and refreshment will be provided. The sessions will take place on the first Friday of each calendar month. On the following dates:

States of Mind: an exhibition by Ann Veronica Janssens at Wellcome Collection - London

Wellcome Collection launches a year-long exploration into the experience of human consciousness with a new installation by Ann Veronica Janssens, opening 15 October 2015. The artist fills an entire gallery with an enveloping and brightly coloured mist in a work called yellowbluepink

Janssens explores perception through the use of light and colour. In her mist installation at Wellcome Collection, colour is caught in a state of suspension, defying the apparent immateriality of the medium and veiling any detail of surface or depth within the space. As visitors walk through this thickly coloured world, attention is focussed on the process of perception itself - an experience both disorienting and uplifting, heightening the wonder of our own consciousness. Entering the gallery is to submit to colour as a physical entity and to be subsumed by the experience of seeing. Ann Veronica Janssens’ installation launches ‘States of Mind’, a year-long investigation into human consciousness; a topic defined as much by what is yet to be understood as what can be readily explained. At the heart of the subject lies the ‘hard question’ of why objective brains give rise to our subjective consciousness. Neuroscience can explain the relationship between brain activity and conscious functions such as memory retention or decision making. Yet it struggles to describe how the activity of neurons results in our individual experience of colour, as in Janssens’ vibrant environment.

Stylist Live (for women) takes place from Thursday 13th – Sunday 16th October at the Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 0QH.

Tickets - Standard, £15 per day. VIP - £55 per day.

Some of the talks there;

Thu 13 Oct

Inspiration Stage

14:30 – 15:15. Caitlin Moran & Sali Hughes: The power of female friendship - Join top writers, broadcasters and feminists Caitlin Moran and Sali Hughes as they discuss what female friendship means to them. Close mates in real life, they’ll share the story of their friendship, how it has endured and why the support of a fantastic friend can’t be replaced. The talk will be followed by an audience Q&A.

15:45 – 16:30. How to make decisions with confidence - With so many choices to make every day, decision overwhelm affects us all. Learn to be bold when choosing between different courses of action in this interactive workshop. With years of experience coaching top professionals, Dr Mandy Lehto will guide you through the decision-making process and show you how to trust your intuition.

The Lounge

16:00 – 16:45. Why the bad mother revolution is here: with Cherry Healey, Esther Walker, Katie Kirby & The Scummy Mummies - Fed up with perfect Insta-mums, photogenic kids and social media parenting humblebrags? You're not alone - and now there's a revolution brewing. It's time to embrace being a Bad Mother, with all the imperfect, messy, honest truth of what it really takes to be a parent in 2016. TV presenter and writer Cherry Healey, journalist and author of Bad Mother Esther Walker, Hurrah for Gin blogger Katie Kirby and comedy duo the Scummy Mummies discuss this kickback against the tyranny of perfect parenting.

Fri 14 Oct

Life Lab

10:30 – 11:15. How to stop feeling tired all the time with Xochi Balfour - Constantly exhausted? Wellness blogger and author of Naturalista, Xochi Balfour has got the practical and simple tips to energise you. Feeling tired all the time is increasingly common and there are a wide range of psychical, psychological and lifestyle issues that can contribute to fatigue - even when you’ve had plenty of sleep. Let Xochi demonstrate how holistic mindfulness and optimum nutrition can really revitalise you.

The Lounge

10:45 – 11:30. Screw social media: How to look behind the digital filter for happiness - We’re a nation of smartphone and social media addicts, but is this constant exposure to so-called ‘perfect’ lifestyles harming us? The UK’s first comparison coach Lucy Sheridan knows so, and in this unique workshop, she’ll tackle the problem of ‘compare and despair’ and why it’s making us unhappy. Bring your smartphone and get ready to start living #comparisonfree as you change your attitude to social media.

Life Lab

11:45 – 12:30. How to fail brilliantly - Bouncing back from failure can be tough, but mistakes are crucial for us to learn from. In this inspiring talk, happiness consultant and change maker Samantha Clarke of Samantha & will help you fail with confidence and give you strategies to move forward with resilience and positivity after a knock back.

Life Lab

14:15 – 15:00. Stop saying yes: Why no is your new power word - Learn how to assert yourself powerfully through language in this inspiring workshop. We're all guilty of saying 'yes' all the time to seek approval, or because we don't want to disappoint, but this can be damaging to our confidence and how we're perceived. Transform the way you think about requests and learn to have the confidence to say no, with happiness and change consultant Samantha Clarke

Inspiration Stage

15:00 – 15:45. Calm down dear: How to make it in a man’s world - Working in a traditionally male-dominated environment can bring a unique set of challenges to overcome. In this panel session, Jessica Bennett, author of Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace, motor sports presenter Suzi Perry, and chef Sophie Michell talk about how they made a success of their careers, and share top advice on how to overcome the difficulties of being the only woman in the room.

Life Lab

16:45 – 17:30. The golden rules of communicating with your partner - Why is it often hardest to get along with the one you love the most? In this workshop our relationship expert will shed light on the most common issues that trigger conflict in relationships and share strategies that will help you listen more and communicate better for a happier relationship.

Work Lab

19:30 – 20:15. Five lessons from a serial mentor - Is having a career mentor really worth it? In this ultimate guide to finding and getting the most out of a mentoring relationship, the CEO of Elevation Networks, Barbara Kasumu, shares how you can boost your career, re-evaluate your goals, avoid pitfalls and get invaluable experience from someone who’s already been there and done that! Barbara's charity mentors young people to help them achieve their professional goals, and knows the great results that can be gained from a successful mentoring partnership.

Sat 15 Oct

Inspiration Stage

10:45 – 11:30 - 'Why I came out of the mental health closet': Bryony Gordon talks to Lucy Mangan - After struggling with OCD, bulimia and depression, journalist and author Bryony Gordon decided to tackle her mental health issues in her brilliantly candid memoir Mad Girl. In this intimate talk, Bryony shares why she decided to open up about her mental health with Stylist’s very own Lucy Mangan, and the importance of these issues to us all.

12:15 – 13:00. How to find the calmer you with Jody Shield - Discover the unique tools to help you stay zen while spinning all the plates that modern life throws at us. Building on her 10 years of experience working in the corporate world, inspiring alternative therapist Jody Shield now advises an incredible roster of clients - from Nike to Stella McCartney - on how to create a life they live. In this workshop, she'll share simple and effective techniques to limit stress, in a world where we’re addicted to 'busy' and overwhelmed with multitasking.

Life Lab

13:15 – 14:00. Living single: the new happily ever after - Searching for 'the one?' Before you sign up to yet another data app, hear what living single expert Helen Croyon has to say. Author of Screw the Fairytale: A Modern Guide to Love and Sex, Helen's written at length about the incompatibility of life-long relationships with our modern independent lifestyles. She'll discuss the benefits of being single, relationships alternatives, how society's attitudes towards traditional couplings have changed and why being single can be a better alternative.

Sun 16 Oct

Life Lab

14:30 – 15:15. How to sleep like a baby - Discover simple and practical changes that can make a world of difference to your sleep patterns with physiologist and sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan. The stresses and strains of modern life can wreak havoc with our sleep quality and energy levels, so learn how small lifestyle changes can help overcome your sleep problems. Rest better, from tonight.

I'm a member of Bio Bank (see the Trust article below) and a computer asks you all sorts of personal questions and queries what it thinks are any input errors. One question is how many different sexual partners you have had. It didn't query MY answer as maybe an error as either too high or too low than what it expected, but I often wonder what answers to that question ARE queried as too high or too low by Bio Bank - maybe Mick Jagger and The Pope should take the test. If they don't force a query over too high or too low an answer then no-one will

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Any advice posted on the Mental Health Forum website or forum is for support purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor, psychiatrist or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding a mental health or other medical condition.

The Mental Health Forum is run by Together For Change, Suite 223, 266 Banbury Road, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX2 7DL